King David ~ Quite the Character!

King David is my all time favorite person from the Old
Testament. We read in 1 Samuel 16:1 that David resides in Bethlehem, the very
town in which Jesus enters the scene as a new born baby!

1 Samuel 16:1: The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you
mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as King over Israel? Fill your horn
with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have
chosen one of his sons to be king.”

Very quickly in David’s life, he is called into service
under King Saul. First as the boy who played the lyre for Saul when he was
tormented by an evil spirit, and then as the courageous young man who defeated
Goliath, a champion from Gath who came out of the Philistine camp. While David
was short in size and young in age, he was full of confidence in both God’s
Plan and Protection.

1 Samuel 17:37 “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the
lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.

David continued to serve under Saul in his armies and was
continually successful in the missions he was sent on and Saul gave him a high
rank in the army. Over time, Saul became jealous of David.

1 Samuel 8:8: Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased
him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought,
“but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?

Soon, Saul’s jealousy caused him to attempt to kill David.
The attitude that David showed in return to Saul’s anger is a foreshadowing of
what Christ would teach upon on the sermon of the mount when it comes to how to
treat your enemies.

David reveals great character by allowing Saul to live even
though Saul was attempting to murder David. In 1 Samuel 24, we read how David
responds to Saul’s jealousy and bitterness that had grown so large; he was
hunting David with the intention of killing him. When Saul is delivered into
David’s hand, David decides to spare Saul’s life.

In 1 Samuel 24: 12-13, we read that David decided to let the
LORD be the judge between them. He quotes an old saying ‘From evildoers come
evil deeds’ and this is why he refuses to lay a hand on Saul. He stays true to
his promise as we read in 1 Samuel 26 when he again has the opportunity to kill
Saul. His faith in the Lord protecting him and dealing with others is so great,
we read this:

1 Samuel 26: 9-11: But David said to Abishai, “Don’t destroy
him! Who can lay a hand on the LORD’s anointed and be guiltless? As surely as
the LORD lives,” he said, “the LORD himself will strike him, or his time will
come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. But the LORD forbid
that I should lay a hand on the LORD’s anointed. Now get the spear and water
jug that are near his head, and let’s go.”

Saul does end up dieing in battle. After this event, all the
tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and reminded him that the LORD had
said David would shepherd his people and become their ruler. David was only 30
years old when he became king and he ruled for 40 years before passing the
throne on to Solomon.

During his reign, the Lord caused the united kingdom to
prosper, to defeat its enemies, and in fulfillment of his promise, to extend
its borders from Egypt to the Euphrates.

Genesis 15:18: On that day the LORD made a covenant with
Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt
to the great river, the Euphrates.

It is later made known through the prophets that a descendant
of David will perfectly fulfill the role of the theocratic king. ( NIV Study
Bible, 2011 edition, 2 Samuel introduction, p.457)

Skeptics of the Bible claimed that King David was a
fictional character because there was no archeological evidence to prove
otherwise; that all changed in 1993 at the site of Tel Dan in northern Israel during
an excavation directed by Israeli archeologist Avraham Biran.

What they discovered was a stone tablet with an inscription
on it commemorating the victory of an Aramean king over his two southern
neighbors: the “king of Israel” and the “king of the House of David” (Based on
“Issue 200: Ten Top Discoveries,” Biblical Archeology Review,
July/August September/October 2009.)

I also chose to write my character sketch on King David
because I love his loyalty to and love for the Lord. While there are obvious
moments where he stumbles, David remains faithful in his devotion to the Lord.
Even when his baby son passes away, he does not turn from the Lord in anger.
Instead, after he plead with God in every way possible and his son still
passed, he accepted the choice of the Lord and informed his servants his son
would not join him here but rather he would see him on the other side.

In my opinion, God uses the story of David to reveal both
how blessed and protected one is when they are faithful to the Lord as well as
truths into the resurrection. I see this playing out in David’s confidence that
he would see his son again.

2 Samuel 12: 22-23: He answered, “While the child was still
alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me
and let the child live.’ But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting?
Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”

I love that the man that is referred to as a man after God’s
heart is the direct lineage that Christ comes from. I truly believe it is no
coincidence that both of their stories begin in the tiny town of Bethlehem!

I also find it interesting that not only are both of these
men from Bethlehem, they are both referred to as shepherds. I think that
David’s protection of his sheep are a direct link to the protection we receive
from the Lord himself.

References

Issue 200: Ten Top Discoveries,” Biblical Archeology
Review, July/August      September/October
2009

NIV Study Bible, 2011, Zondervon publishing, p. 457

This was my latest paper I did while attending College at Colorado Christian University. God was the one that pointed me back to school. One could say life started getting pretty wild the second I got down on my knees and told God I was over it, He could have his will where my life was concerned. I told him I was at the end of my own strength and if he was indeed insisting on blessing me with another child, he was going to have to step in and help. He called me by name! Told me to get off of my knees! All of this is in my latest book 'You are Worthy Too: Angels, Answers, Signs and Wonders'

you are cordially invited to read one of the many books that God put on my heart to write. Just go to http://www.amazon.com/author/wendyglidden and grab your copy today! I am selling them for only $4.99 in e-book format and only $9.99 in print! This particular book will build your faith in ways you never thought of! Get yours today and start a new chapter in your life!

Wendy Glidden, walks with God, Mom of Many

Do You Want To Be A Champion?

Totally Tripping Tremendously Thankful Thoroughly Thoughtful Thunderous Thursday! Can I hear a boom boom! Oh I am so in love with Christ. I am so in awe of what He has done for me. What a friend! What a Savior! What a King! What a Lord! I mean when you consider that He didn't just die for us, He allowed himself to be hung on a cross for our sins when He was sinless. Before his sacrifice, we all faced a Certain death. A Finality. Sure, there are various ways we all die. Some of them seem so wrong and cruel and vicious and unjust and truly many times they are just that. What we need to remember is that this death is no longer our Finality. Thanks to Christ, when we believe we are saved and while we die here on earth that is not our final hour. What an amazing blessing to be bestowed with such Grace.

For me it gets even better than that. You see before Christ died, He Taught. He taught us a better way to maneuver through this life. A way that would allow us to live abundantly! Abundantly!!

We are not capable of living out the Law. No human can live all their days here on earth without stumbling when it comes to the Ten Commandments. Jesus took that law handed down and expanded it's meaning to show us that without Grace we would never make it. Today I am so thankful for Grace, especially when I read today's encouraging word from K-Love:

Don't sin by letting anger control you. 

Think about it overnight and remain silent. ~ Psalm 4:4-5, NLT

Not sure about you but I have moments of anger rise. It is only by my desire to walk in the Spirit that I am able to follow in Jesus teachings. This is not to say I never get angry! Sadly I still have my moments. However the Voice of Righteousness convicts me of my emotions and reminds me who I am in Christ. 

That transformation did not happen overnight. It has come about over time by the renewing of my mind. I am happy I read today's encouraging word before coming to work this morning. No sooner than I sat at my desk, I had a phone call from an angry person that wasn't even our customer. I felt truly sorry for the person on the other end for anger was in control of them. You could literally feel it coming across the phone. I tried to get them to see that while they were angry and threatening me that all I was capable of doing was listening to their rant but in the end the result would remain the same. 

Sadly this only made them angrier and they began calling me things. I recognized that this was their feeble attempt to get me upset. I was wearing my armor and their words dissipated into the harmless vapor they were all along. 

Anger is one of the evil ones best weapons. He gets in your head and can spark that rage to ridiculous heights. Just think of Cain and Able. He has been playing this game since the beginning. Anger and Jealousy are two of the top weapons the evil one uses to get one person to hurt, harm and even murder another. 

Realizing that anger in itself is a sin. Knowing that sin separates you from God, can you imagine a life without grace? It would be short lived! We would all be toast for real in the end no matter how we made our exit. Today that is not the case and that my friends is the good news. These are the words you should repeat to yourself every morning and night and reflect on just what they mean for you. 

Jesus. Grace. Saved. Redeemed. Saints. Rest. Fruit of The Spirit. Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self Control. Walk in The Spirit. Convicted of Your Righteousness. 

Now many false teachers believe if they tell the world all about Jesus and help others actually see the truth, then those that listen and get it will go crazy thinking they have no cause to be or do good. 

The truth is, when you realize the truth, the Holy Spirit convicts you of your righteousness and you will Want to walk in the Spirit. You will understand and truly feel the difference. Walking outside of the spirit will not feel good. 

It is true some accept Jesus and walk in a moment of darkness. After all the evil one is not going to let you go simply because you accept Christ. Oh no. No. NO. He is going to come after you with a vengeance. You see, the father of lies cannot allow you to accept Christ and proceed to easily walk the rest of your life on cloud nine knowing the truth and sharing it with others. Nope. He is going to throw everything at you. This is why it is so important to renew your mind daily with the word. It is why our Lord went to such lengths to leave us with such great writings of advice and council. You are blessed and protected in the reading of the Word. It truly is armor. 

Should you wonder how I can be so sure of such protection you should go back and read just one of my blogs from this summer. I will highlight it at the bottom. It is a timeline of when and how the evil one came at me with two barrels fully loaded. I felt the blows. Trust me I did. The more he came at me, the more I turned to the Lord and dove into His word. 

The armor we are advised to wear makes a GIGANTIC difference in how well we dance through the battle being waged upon us. Every day you wake up, you should dress for battle. We truly are in a spiritual war. The evil one is quite the adversary. He has had thousands of years to watch us. You think he hasn't come across the likes of you before?

There is one person who walked this earth in a human form that lived out the law and when He was crucified and His blood was poured out, everything changed. The most important thing you can do in your life is learn about and understand just who Jesus was. The next most important thing you can do with your life is spend it sharing what you have learned with anyone and everyone. 

I love that this verse comes before the teachings of Jesus and I love Psalms. We are taking a deep dive into four Psalms at my home church on Sundays. King David, the same David that defeated Goliath, was truly a man after God's heart. I am indeed a woman after God's heart. So it makes perfect sense that King David's words make my heart leap with joy. I feel my blood race through my veins when I read various Psalms written by King David. Honestly, I get the same feeling when I read some of the things written by Paul as well. They remind me of champions for the Lord. I want to be a champion for my Lord. I want others to understand and feel the Love the Lord holds for them. I want them to experience it for themselves. There is no greater feeling in the world then knowing your Heavenly Father is smiling upon you. 

Father I come before you today with songs of praise. What a loving Father you are. What a foolish child I was. I am so thankful for your Grace and your Faithfulness. What a blessing they are. I truly love how much you care for me. Your ways are amazing and I am often left in awe for the the many blessings you bestow upon me. I am unsure what I ever did to earn such favor but I am sure thankful for it! All I long for the rest of my days is to be a champion for you. A mighty warrior. Use me Lord to reach out to others. Please use my fingers to say what it is you want to say. I love all the words you have left for me to read through others. They make me sing and dance and laugh and leap with joy for I know they are all true. You love your children. You desire for us to live abundant lives. I pray that others feel your love to such depths as I Father. May their hearts sing praises to you. May we glorify you in all we do. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

* As promised, here is the link for the timeline blog: http://youareworthytoo.blogspot.com/2013/09/god-is-always-good.html

On a final note, I just watched the new Mercy Me video for their new song called 'Shake' put on your dancing shoes and get ready to bust a move if you have a device that will allow you to listen / watch! Be blessed and be a blessing!

Wendy, walks with God

Mom of Many

© Wendy Glidden 

'What Can Mortal Man Do to Me?'

Good morning! According to my calendar, it is Totally Terrific Testimonial Tell All Tuesday! Here is one of my testimonies: Last night I was assistant coach for my son's 2nd grade basket ball team. I was able to participate in all the drills and it was awesome!

A year ago everywhere I went, I shuffled. Lifting my feet off the ground was something I simply was not capable of doing. Toward the end of summer, I prayed to God to have my healthy body back. I cried out in anguish. After being in massive pain for almost three years, He had answered my prayer for healing regarding my back and had literally placed a wellness doctor in my path. He was delivered to me in such a way there was no denying it was God that was placing me in his care.

Upon my first visit to him, he began putting my bones back in place. I knew I was in bad shape, I just did not realize how bad! I began seeing him late April / early May and now I only see him once a month for an adjustment.

With his help, I had the confidence to begin a workout routine that another friend suggested I try. She had been pursuing me to try one of her companies workout videos and I had told her about the fact I truly needed a 'Physical Therapy' kind of work out video to follow and she knew just what I needed. She excitedly told me about it and I decided to give it a go.

I am so happy I did. In 42 days, which is only six weeks time, I have dropped 36 pounds and 34" of body fat from my skeletal frame and have gained amazing agility and flexibility in the process. I am so happy with how far I have come I could cry tears of absolute joy. I am now one of 'those girls' with a fat loss story that is unbelievable! I have not made it to my goal size or weight but I now know it is 100% possible in the next 42 days to get the job finished!

My goal is to lose 78 pounds. This will also mean losing 4-5 more inches around my waist, 2 - 3 more at my hips and another 1 - 2 off my chest area. With that my arms and legs will also shrink a bit.

I read once that for every pound you take off of your body it is like removing 4 pounds of burden. I know my frame appreciates the lighter weight it must still tote around. I can only dream about how awesome getting back to where I want to be will feel! Only 42 more pounds to shed!

I have promised to reach back and help anyone who is desiring to truly lose weight. It is hard work. It takes determination. However, this works so well and is so healthy, you will secretly enjoy watching yourself melt. If you need a coach or someone to encourage you or whatever label you want to slap on it, I would be thrilled to be that for you. Simply email me at wendyglidden123@gmail.com and indicate what you want help with.

I'm into total wellness so from helping you with your mindset and your relationship with the Lord to losing weight and getting into the size pants you want back into or into for the first time, I am here for you! Nothing would please me more than to reach back and help someone who has tried almost everything and failed.

Recently God has been flashing me things from my past again. As far as my life line goes I managed to get beyond the adoption to the point I almost lost my life in a bike wreck due to literally working myself to death so that I could fall asleep without thinking. Absolute off the charts craziness is what follows that scene and I have once again been dragging my feet.

However, this past Sunday, when we were asked what becoming a believer in the cross and Jesus Christ had changed in our life, I replied, for me it had meant freedom of fear. Fear of judgement from others, fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of anything.

It reminds me of David when he asks, 'What can mortal man do to me?' I love David's Psalms. We are covering 4 different Psalms in November. Last Sunday we covered Psalm 32 and touched on Psalm 56, which is one of my endless favorites. I am going to share David's words here, right out of my MacArthur study bible. I hope you love his trust and enthusiasm half as much as I do! Psalm 56 in it's entirety:

** My study bible highlights this as Supplication for Deliverance and Grateful Trust in God. This took place when the Philistines seized David in Gath.

verse 1: Be gracious to me, O God, for man has trampled upon me; Fighting all day long he oppresses me.

verse 2: My foes have trampled upon me all day long, For they are many who fight proudly against me.

verse 3: When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.

verse 4: In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?

verse 5: All day long they distort my words; All their thoughts are against me for evil.

verse 6: They attack, they lurk, They watch my steps, As they have waited to take my life.

verse 7: Because of wickedness, cast them forth, In anger put down the peoples, O God!

verse 8: You have taken account of my wanderings; Put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book?

verse 9: Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call; This I know, that God is for me.

verse 10: In God whose word I praise, In the Lord, whose word I praise,

verse 11: In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?

verse 12: Your vows are binding upon me, O God; I will render thank offerings to You.

verse 13: For You have delivered my soul from death, Indeed my feet from stumbling, So that I may walk before God in the light of the living.

I love the trust King David places in the Lord. I know just how he feels. As I go forth and share more things from my early to mid twenties, I too will trust in the Lord knowing that He is using my stories to inspire and encourage and call others home. All for the glory of God.

I thank the Lord for all He has delivered me from. While I have shared a ton, I have so much more to reveal. I keep saying I am going to get to it and truly I am. I must go back and refresh my memory of where I ended exactly so that I can continue from there.

Should you just be joining me in this journey, I invite you to go back to my introduction post, in my mind humorously titled, 'In the Beginning' and read the personal posts up to 'Saying Goodbye to Amanda Rose' there is one after that where I share my bike wreck, but for the life of me I cannot remember it's title right now.

It is my prayer that my story inspires hope and reveals the glory of God. It is also my prayer that it helps you in building your trust and your relationship with the Lord.

I have missed out on sharing the last couple days encouraging words by K-Love on my Facebook page and I love both Monday's and Today's, so I am going to share both of them now:

Monday 11/4/2013

But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength ~ 2 Timothy 4:17a, NLT

Tuesday 11/5/2013

I promise this very day that I will repay two blessings for each of your troubles. ~ Zechariah 9:12b, NLT 

The Lord has stood with me time and time again and has given me strength. I know this as truth for I have felt myself drained of all strength, yet remain planted on my feet, held up firmly by the mighty hand of our Lord. 

I too am beginning to witness what I would say are more than two blessings for each of my troubles. Perhaps it feels like more for I have had much trouble over my life span! Us saints are not promised an easy life you know!! I hope I have managed to leave you with a smile today! Remember be blessed and be a blessing to others!

Father, today I come to you singing praises for all the miracles you have performed concerning me. I am blessed to call upon you and have you deliver me. I am blessed to have the relationship that I do with you. For decades I called upon you in times of big trouble but turned my back on you in my daily life. What a fool I was to think you were not for me any longer. What a fool to believe the lies that were being fed to me by the evil one. He is clever but not wise for he set himself against you to begin with. Thank you for speaking to me. Thank you for your signs and wonders. I pray I am witness to many more for they tickle me to no end. Father, it is my prayer that more of my brothers and sisters that are today where I have been in my past concerning a relationship with you step fully into the light and draw much closer to you. May their eyes and hearts be opened my Lord. May they begin to seek more of your wisdom and love and may they grow and become workers. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Wendy, walks with God
Mom of Many

© Wendy Glidden 2013